Combined cooker and cooler.



A. R. THOMPSON.

Patented Sept. 25, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

IN V EN TOR.

WITNESS wi'z 74M/W BY flw/zvdmf A TTORNE YS A. R. THOMPSON.

COMBINED COOKER AND COOLER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 25,1916.

1 ,Q1 1 1 68 Patented Sept. 25, 1917.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

WITNESS INVENTOR. ZJ-EQIW f w %Am I fiM/t )7 A TTORNE YJ' A. R. THOMPSON.

COMBINED COOKER AND COOLER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 25. 1916.

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ALBERT R. THOMPSON, OF SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO ANDERSON-BARN- GROVER MFG. CO., OF SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OF CALIFORNIA.

COMBINED cooxnn AND COOLER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 25, 1917..

Application filed November 25, 1916. Serial No. 133,471.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT R. THOMPSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Jose, in the county of Santa Clara and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Combined Cookers and Coolers, of which the followin is a specification.

y invention relates to the class of apparatus used in the canning art for cooking the canned commodity and then cooling it.

In some cases, and with certain products the necessity for cooling lies in the nature of the material itself, in that having been subjected to the required cooking temperature for the proper time, it is essential that a quick period be put to the operation. In other cases the vvalue of cooling may he simply in the time saved in being able to handle the cans for any purpose, as, for example, labeling them as soon as possible after the cook.

It is, therefore, common practice to follow the cooking with a cooling operation, and this is done, as a rule, by employing a second machine similar to and following the cooker, but in which a cooling medium, such, for example, as cold water is employed. The two machines are placed near each other and are connected by some form of transfer device by which the cans as they emerge from the cooker are directed at once into the cooler. In the canning art, as at present practised, time saved is a great factor, due to the large number of cans which, in continuous succession pass through the several operations. But economy in this regard can only be had where the utmost precision and control are present. The difliculty heretofore experienced in the matter under present consideration has been the lack of precision and control, due to the forms of transfer mechanism uniting the cooker and cooler. These forms usually depend in whole or in part upon gravity, and consequently the liability of interruption due to displacement of a can or disarrangement of the stream or procession of cans from cooker to cooler, or other inaccuracy in position, has always been present and has required strict attention in order to avoid a mix up and loss of time,

It is the object of my invention to avoid this difficulty by providing a combined cooker and cooler including the transfer that at all times in the course of travel the cans are retained in relative position and advanced positively in their respective places.

To this end my invention consists in the novel combined cooker and cooler which I shall now fully describe by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of my machine, the wall of the box being broken away in places to show interior parts.

Fig. 2 is an elevation, broken, of the receiving end of the cooker member of the combined machine.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a view of the delivery end of the cooler member of the machine, broken away to show the delivery mechanism.

.Fig. 5 is a detail in perspective showing the means by which the cans pass into and out of the transfer member, from and to the cooker and cooler members respectively.

Referring to Fig. 1'A is the cooker member of the combined machine, B is the cooler member and C is the transfer member. The cooker and cooler members are independent individually inclosed structures.

In general and in their preferred form each of these members has a can path of a type well known, comprising a fixed helically directed rail, and a rotating reel of rails inside of the helically directed rail and parallel with its axis. All the rails are of some type of angle section so that when properly relatively disposed they form a continuous helical path through which the cans are conveyed positively from the inlet to the outlet.

Describing more specifically the cooker member A, l is the box adapted for any suitable heating medium, water or steam or both. I have not deemed it necessary to complicate the drawings with an illustration of heating means for these form no part of my invention, and it will be suflicient to say that in practice the cooker will be suitably heated, as by steam and hot water and similarly the cooler will be cooled by cold water. Within the box 1 is mounted a fixed helically directed rail 2, which is preferably of T-section with its leg portion projecting inwardly.

Carried by a central shaft 3 are end ,for example, through the chute 6, shown in Fig. 2, will lie between the rails and be d rected thereby throughout a contmuous helical path to the other end of the cooker.

Describing now the cooler member B, 7 15 its box,- 8 its fixed helically directed rail, 9

its shaft, 10 its end spiders and 11 its annular series of rotating-reel rails. These two members'of theorganized machmeare connected to operate in unison by having them shafts 3 and 9 coupled at 12, so that they practically have a shaft common to both. The combined shafts are drlven, as shown in Fig. 2, from the drive shaft 13, carrying the usual fast and loose pulleys at 14, a'worm l5 and a worm wheel 16.

The transfer member C,'operat1v.ely o ns the cooker and cooler members, andis an mdependent structure intermediate said members. It consists ofa frame 17, inclosed or not as may be preferred, mounted upon and between the cooker and cooler boxes, a fixed helically directed rail 18, earned by the frame, a central shaft 19, end spiders 20, and a rotating annular series of reel-rails In practice, it is best to accelerate the pltch of the helically directed rail in the transfer member, in order to hasten the passage of the cans therethrough. This I have shown in Fig. 1. The rotation of the reel railseries in the transfer member is, however, in an opposite direction to that of the rotation of the reel-rail series of the cooker and cooler, and is effected as follows: The shaft 19 of the transfer member, as shown in Fig. 1, is extended to the farther end of the cooler member and carries a gear 22 which meshes with a gear 23 on the cooler shaft 9. Thus all the members are connected to operate in timely unison and are under one control.

By making the transfer member ofthe same genera character as the cooker and cooler members, the can-path becomes a continuous one of like nature throughout and thetravel of the cans is therefore equally positive throughout and subject to no interruptions or disarrangements, the cans retaining their relative positions andthe stream flowing smoothly and under perfect control.

In order to secure this uninterrupted path, I join directly, that is to say, in immediate relation the path of the cooker to that of the transfer by the construction, best shown in Fig. 5.

The helically directed rail 18 of the transfer member, on account of its accelerated at the top of one and the bottom of the other.

' ,The first component of the helical duplex I rail of the transfer member meets the terminal coil of the helical rail of the cooker, though they are reversed; and one of the arm portions of said terminal coil of the cooker is cut out, as shown at 24. The other component of the helical duplex rail 18 of the transfer member is extended as at 25 on a reverse curve, the are being about the axis of the helical rail of the cooker; and said extension lies at the ends of the reel-rails of the cooker.

Now as a can in the cooker approaches theend ofthe reel-rail on which it rests, being pushed endwise thereto as it rises with the reel, by the terminal coil of the helicalrail of the cooker, there comes a time when it will be pushed in partto rest upon the reverse curve 25 of the second component of the duplex helical rail 18 of the transfer member; and by this time it will also have reached the cut out portion 24 of the terminal helical coil. Now for a few moments it continues to rise'with the reel-rail of the cooker until the highest point of the circular path of said rail is reached. At this moment and just as the reel rail begins its descent a reel rail of the transfer device picks the can up from behind and moves it forward into the normal curve of the second duplex component and immediately after onto the first duplex component of the helical ra1l'18, the cut out 24 in the terminal coil of the cooker helical rail permitting freedomin this movement. The can being now in the transfer member is carried through 1t equally as positively as before and delivered from the other end into the cooler.

The means for delivery into the cooler are precisely like those for the transfer from the cooker, except that the operation is reversed. These means are shown on the right-hand end of Fig. 5 and aredesignated by similar numerals.

The means for discharging the cans from the cooler are shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

Fixed within the cooler box at its farther end is an ogee cam-track 26. Its lower end has the general curve of the cooler reel, and

it lies at the ends of the reel rails. The

upper curve is on an are having for its center the axis of a discharge pocket-wheel 27 and the upper endof said curve terminates in a chute 28.-

The pocket wheel comprises two spaced disks as seen in Fig. 1. These are mounted on and are rotated by the shaft 19 of the transfer member of the organization, and they extend down into the cooler box.

As the cans approach the end of the cooler path, they are gradually pushed off the ends of the reel rails and rest more and more on the lower curve of the ogee cam-track 26. When they reach the summit, they are wholly off the reel rails and are now picked up by the pocket wheel and carried up the upper curve of the cam-track.

A fixed finger 29 lies between the two disks of the pocket-wheel in such position that each can by contact with it will be rolled out of its pocket into the chute 28. Thus from start to finish at all points the operation of cooking, transferring, cooling and discharging the cans in continuous, unobstructed, positive and under a single perfect control.

I claim 1. A combined cooker and cooler consisting of adjacent independent, individually inclosed cooker and cooler members each comprising a box, a fixed helically directed rail within the box and a reel of'rails parallel with the axis of the helically directed rail and forming therewith a helical can path; a shaft common to both rail-reels for rotating them in timely unison; an independent transfer member intermediate andexterior to the cooker and cooler members and comprising a fixed helically directed rail and a reel of rails parallel with the axis of the helically directed rail and forming therewith a helical can path; means operated by the rail-reel driving shaft of the cooker and cooler members for rotating the rail-reel of the transfer member in timely unison, the ends of the can path rails of the transfer member being in immediate relation to the adjacent ends of the rails of the can-paths of the cooker and cooler members respectively.

2. A combined cooker and cooler consisting of adjacent independent, individually inclosed cooker and cooler members each comprising a box, a fixed helically directed rail within the box and a reel of rails parallel with the axis of the helically directed rail and forming therewith a helical can path; a shaft common to both rail-reels for rotating them in timely unison; an independent transfer member intermediate and exterior to the cooker and cooler members and comprisin a fixed helically directed rail and a reel 0 rails parallel with the axis of the helically directed rail and forming therewith a helical can path; a shaft driven from the common rail-reel driving shaft of the cooker and cooler members for rotating the rail-reel of the transfer member in timely unison; the ends of the can-path rails of the transfer member being in immediate relation to the adjacent ends of the rails of the can-paths of the cooker and cooler member respectively; means for positively deliverin the cans from the cooler member in fixe relation; and a delivery device on the rail-.

reel driving shaft of the transfer member for the timely removal of the cans.

3. In a combined cooker and cooler and in combination with adjacent cooker and cooler members thereof each having an internal can-path composed of a fixed helically directed rail and a reel of rails parallel with the axis of the helically directed rail, and means for rotating said rail-reels of both members in timely unison and in the same direction, a transfer member intermediate the cooker and cooler members, and having a can path composed of a fixed helically directed rail oppositely pitched to the pitch of the helical rails in the cooker and cooler members, and a rotatable reel of rails, the path of rotation of which approaches closely to that of the rail-reels in the cooker and cooler members and is reversed in direction thereto, and the helical rail of said transfer member in part meeting the adjacent helical rails in the cooker and cooler members respectively and in part overlapping them with an extension curved about the same axis and lying at the ends of the reel-rails.

4. In a combined cooker and cooler as herein described and composed of a cooker member, a cooler member and a transfer member intermediate the cooker and cooler members, all of said members having acontinuous can-path composed of the uninter ruptedly related and coacting fixed helically directed rails and rotating rail-reels, the delivering means from the end of'the cooler.

member comprising an ogee cam track at the end of the cooler rail-reel, and spaced pocket disks coacting with said cam-track;

. a fixed discharge finger between the disks;

and means for operating said disks in unison with the rail-reels.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALBERT R. THOMPSON.

Witnesses:

WM. F. Boorn, D. B. RICHARDS. 

